Even with the closure of its historic studio in Japan and departure of many key creators, Sony Interactive Entertainment is still planning on investing in its “external development group out of Tokyo.”
On April 1 of this year, PlayStation Studios Japan, its first ever studio, closed its doors. The restructuring called for the studio to shift focus around Team Asobi - the developer of Astro’s Playroom.
The closure also saw the departure of many top creatives for the Japan Studio creatives, Keiichiro Toyama, the creator of Silent Hill and Gravity Rush, as well as director of Demon’s Souls - Gavin Moore. All these changes have left fans confused as to the direction Sony will be taking in regards to development in Japan.
However, in a recent interview, Herman Hulst - head of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios - discussed that there will be continued investment will be made in “our external development group out of Tokyo as well, and that’s a team that has obviously worked with the likes of From Software and Kojima Productions.” Hulst goes on to explain the important role Japanese development plays on the company and its brand by stating, “I think it’s such a core part of the PlayStation identity that I can’t ever see us shy away from Japanese or even Asian development.”
In other Sony news, Ghost of Tsushima - the critically acclaimed open world action adventure game - continues to make headlines, as PlayStation recently sent a life-sized statue of Jin to the game’s developers, Sucker Punch, in celebration of the launch of the Director's Cut version of the game. Additionally, it looks like same-day PC launches will not be happening for Sony games will not be happening anywhere in the near future, as Hulst stated that Sony will "squeeze the maximum '' out of consoles first. Finally, Hades is now Metactitic's highest-rated game on not only PS5, Xbox Series.